In the Hands of the Prophets

Well goodbye 2012 and hello 2013! Another year has come and gone but I’m still here, albeit less of me than there was in January. The year as a whole was pretty good and I honestly can’t complain about where things are at right now.  I very much look forward to what the new year has to offer and bring my way. I am pledging that I will be open to whatever the universe brings my way.

In The Hands Of The Prophets
In the middle of a lesson on the wormhole Mrs. O’Brien’s classroom is paid a visit by Vedek Winn, a high level Bajoran spiritual leader. Winn has a major problem with Mrs. O’Brien not teaching the religious beliefs that surround the wormhole and celestial temple and basically lays down a pretty big religious threat against the school. Meanwhile an officer has gone missing and was found dead in a Jeffries tube. Tensions on the station continue to mount as the school is causing a rift between the Bajorans and Federation staff and civilian populations. Winn continues to preach about the prophets and even Kira professes to agree with her on the school. Sisko goes to Bajor to seek help from a less orthodox Vedek, Vedek Bareil. Bareil claims that he can’t help because he is trying to vai for the position of Kai and doesn’t want to alienate any of the religious orders on Bajor. Soon after he returns to the station Sisko must rush to the school because there has been an explosion. Luckily no one was hurt in the process but this heightens the tensions. There is another mysterious finding in the murder case where a runabout has been tampered with to be used as a getaway vehicle. We learn that Winn and a bajoran technician named Neela are working together on a plot. Bareil makes a surprise visit to the station to help comfort and calm the tensions. During this talk O’Brien, Sisko and Dax foil an assassination attempt on Bareil. Kira confronts Winn, knowing that she is behind the attempt as a way to secure her position as Kai. In the end tensions settle and Kira and Sisko get back to work.

This show features the first appearance of Louise Fletcher, the Oscar winning actress from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as Vedek Winn. Fletcher is a powerhouse actress who never really got a ton of respect or a mainstream job even after her Oscar win. She was type cast in the evil villain role which led to her taking a lot of science fiction parts. She is wonderful and makes a total of 14 appearances over the next six seasons. The show deals with a heavy issue… religion in the classroom and it is handled beautifully. 

Duet

What a wonderful day spent relaxing on the couch and watching TV. I really didn’t do a whole lot today except workout and each Chinese food this afternoon. It was actually a nice day looking after my little kitten that was just neutered and declawed on Friday. The young man is a bit calmer than he was before hand and I hope that trend continues forever. I have made one New Year’s resolution already and that is to attend a Star Trek convention this year and I think my destination will be the Convention in Chicago this summer. I have not been to a convention in 20 years and that was with my grandmother, I was ten at the time.

Elliptical Machine: Miles- 3.91, Calories- 629

Duet
A freighter has contacted DS9 because they have a passenger on board who needs medical assistance because he has Kalla-Nohra. Kira goes to the infirmary to visit this passenger because Kalla-Nohra is an illness that only people who were at the Gallitep Labor Camp have contracted. She goes assuming that she will be talking to a Bajoran survivor of the camp but is shocked to find a Cardassian in the infirmary. She immediately calls for security to arrest this man and he is taken into a holding cell. She charges him with committing atrocities against the Bajoran people at the forced labor camp.  The man claims to be Aamin Marritza, a file clerk at the Gallitep facility who doesn’t seem to have any real idea of what happened at the camp. Kira is very upset as she was hoping to have captured a real criminal and she begins dealing with feelings of revenge and hatred all over again. Kira, it is revealed, has a very personal connection to Gallitep as she was one of the Bajoran resistance fighters who helped to liberate the camp about 12 years prior. The Cardassians send a picture of Gallitep and this man does not look like Aamin Marritza but instead is the spitting image of Gul Darhe’el. Darhe’el was the administrator of the camp and know as “The Butcher of Gallitep”. Communication is set up with Cardassia again and it is discovered that Darhe’el died nearly six years ago so this cannot be him. During her interrogations with Marritza, Kira develops a strange connection of hatred but understanding of some sort. When she revealed that it was confirmed he was not Darhe’el he breaks down and confesses that he is Marritza but that he felt some justice needed to be paid to restore Cardassia to glory. He was trying to do the right thing and felt bad about his small part in occupation of Bajor. In the end while being escorted to a shuttle a stray drunk Bajoran kills him with a knife. The show ends with Kira holding this Cardassian man in tears.

This show is a very solid and engrossing hour of television anchored by extremely strong performances from Nana Visitor and Harris Yulin (marritza). It is a real shame that neither received any recognition from the TV academy for their performances, just another example of Sci-Fi not getting any credit with voters. The show also confirms the Bajoran Occupation as an allegory for the genocide and internment of Jews during Nazi Germany in the 30’s and 40’s. Of additional not e is that the interrogation scenes between Marritza and Kira are very similar to the interrogation scenes between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. This episode helped to give hope that Deep Space Nine really had a lot to say and was a unique voice within the Star Trek world. 

Dramatis Personae

I have joined a gym for the second time in my life but this time I am going to make something come of it! My plans are to continue this blog three to four times per week and then lift the other three days out of the week. I went to the gym for the first time yesterday and went through a total body routine I found online at bodybuilding.com. The workout seemed pretty straight forward and I actually felt pretty successful afterwards. The routine took about a total for 45 minutes which I’m sure took so long because I had to read the directions on each machine to make sure I did it correctly. Later yesterday I went downhill skiing for the first time in about 18 years. The last time I was in 6^th grade and well let’s just say I never made it off the bunny hill. I am happy to say that this time I made it off of the bunny hill with the help of two of my best friends giving me guidance and amazing support and well to be honest a couple of drinks to “loosen me up”. Today has been busy as well as I dropped off the kitten to get neutered and declawed so basically it has been quiet around my house today. All in all it has been a great few days and I am making my way back down the scale after the holiday foods took a little toll on me.

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 639, Miles- 3.97

Dramatis Personae
Kira comes to Sisko about a Valerian ship that she suspects is carrying weapons grade dolomite and Kira wants him to detain the ship. Sisko declines to detain the ship but allows her to investigate as rapidly as she can to find information linking the Valerians to weapons trading. While having a heated debate about the Valerian ship a Klingon science vessel comes through the wormhole and explodes but a single member of the crew beams over to the station. The klingon dies shortly after but utters one word… Victory. Soon after Odo is in Quark’s trying to get some information on the Klingon ship and Odo has a meltdown. Literally his face melts and reforms and he faints. While Bashir is talking to him in the infirmary he expresses concerns about Sisko and Kira’s fight. At the same time Kira and Sisko start vying  for the loyalty of the other senior officers. O’Brien and Bashir have aligned themselves with Sisko and Dax has seemingly aligned herself with Kira. The two factions start to fight more and more. Meanwhile Odo has taken the time to examine to klingon’s personal logs and it seems that they encountered an energy force and with Bashir’s help they figure out a way to get this alien telepathic matrix out of the crew’s heads. In the end all returns to normal with Kira and Sisko agreeing to put the incident in the past. 

The Forsaken

So this happened yesterday and today was busy doing errands and finishing up holiday shopping so I didn't have time to write up this post.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 647, Miles: 4.10

The Forsaken

The station is playing host to four Federation ambassadors and Bashir has been assigned “babysitting” duty as he is the lowest ranking senior officer. He only has to take care of three of the ambassadors because one of them is the headstrong and independent Lwaxana Troi, but the other three prove to be pains in the ass! Lwaxana after a minor incident at Quarks takes a shine to Odo and begins pursuing his affections to almost no avail. Meanwhile a strange probe has come through the wormhole and it has downloaded its memories into the file system of the station and starts causing problem after problem. O’Brien seems to think that the probe has become attached to him somehow so they try to get the program off the station but it only serves to anger the program even more. It shuts down power to nearly the whole station. During this time Lwaxana has forced her way into observing an upper pylon inspection and the two are trapped in an elevator together. Lwaxana and Odo begin to form a bond which is solidified when he is forced to revert to his original form and be held in a puddle in her skirt. O’Brien manages to isolate the program into a specific area of the computer and all returns to normal. 

If Wishes Were Horses

Today I had to say goodbye to my Johnnie Cake, my puppy of the last 13 years. It was a decision made to put her out of her misery due to her declining health and physical status. I got Johnnie when I was in 10^th grade and though I was away at college and living here at my house for most of that time she was always my dog and brightened up when I came home. I truly miss her and can’t believe that she is gone. The shitty part is that my mom had to put down her dog Marcie, Johnnie’s full sister at the same time for similar health concerns. Each time the family looses a pet it is just a reminder that these creatures that we welcome into our homes become family members that impact our lives forever! I will miss my Johnnie Cake a lot but I have to remember that it is for the best.

Elliptical Machine: Miles- 4.01, Calories- 655

If Wishes Were Horses
O’Brien is playing the part of a good family man and reading Rumplestiltskin to his young daughter. After she is supposed to be in bed Molly O’Brien rushes out because Rumplestiltskin is in her bedroom. To everyone’s shock he really is on board the station, along with an old Earth baseball player Buck Bokai, and a really submissive version of Dax. Each of these characters has come out of the imaginations of a different crew member. Bashir is mortified that Dax came out of his mind and it seems everyone else is getting a kick out of this, even the real Dax. The rest of the station is experiencing odd figments of their imagination from snow on the promenade to Quark dreaming up a pair of nasty harlots. Soon after a subspace rift is discovered that is threatening to destroy the station and the entire Bajoran system. The crew works tirelessly to figure out the problem while the figments continue to provide distractions on board the station. Seconds before it is too late Sisko figures it out that the whole thing is a figment of the station’s imagination and by believing that nothing is there all is fixed and back to normal. The figments reveal themselves to be a race of exploring aliens who came through the wormhole. The aliens just wanted to observe and learn but didn't know they would put everyone in danger, or were they in real danger to begin with?  

Progress

I am officially taking applications for a husband! As cliché as that must sound it is the truth, I am kinda sick of being single at the moment. Though I am fine being alone I would like to be with someone and develop a relationship. I’d like to also throw this out there but if you are reading this blog Darren Criss you can move to the front of the line because I do believe I love you! LOL how sad is that but I am not afraid to admit to having a crush on a celebrity and the best thing is that he sings, dances, plays the guitar and piano and is cute and basically adorable. Now I have not met Darren Criss so maybe he is a douche but I choose to believe he is just like his character Blaine on Glee! Like anyone else I guess I am looking for someone to share the stupid moments in life with and celebrate the good times and survive the bad ones with. I can sum it up a bunch of different ways but I’m looking for my Karaoke Partner in Crime.

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 617, Miles: 3.92

Progress
Deep Space Nine is helping Bajor tap the core of one of its moons so that it can provide much needed power to many of the planets residents. A problem comes about when three life forms are discovered on the moon. Kira goes to investigate and discovers two mute bajorans and their friend Mullibok, an old man who came to the moon 40 years ago when escaped the Cardassians. Kira gets talked into dinner with Mullibok which turns into a three hour ordeal which even further turns into a good deal of bonding between Kira and Mullibok. They are in a sense kindred spirits still getting over the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. Kira returns to the station to share the bad news about Mullibok refusing to leave the moon. It is decided that he must leave and Kira is once again sent out to get him off the surface but this time it gets botched when a guard shoots Mullibok with a phaser. Kira stays on to help him heal and Sisko pays a special visit to remind Kira of her duties. In the end Kira burns down Mullibok’s home and he must go with her back to Bajor. Kira feels like shit but knows in her heart that she is doing what is best for her and for Mullibok. While all of this is happening Jake and Nog are trying to make a profit by selling Cardassian yammok sauce which then turns into self-sealing stem bolts which then turns into a piece of land on Bajor and finally some money from Quark. 

The Storyteller

I have sadly gone up a few pounds over the last few weeks and I am in that terrible struggle to loose them! My mind says to me “what kind of quick fix solution can we do” but my logical brain is saying “Paul stick to your guns and follow the program it has worked thus far”.

Today I went to a middle school band concert and really had a great time! I was thoroughly impressed by the performance of the students at my school and how well they played! The teachers stood up in front of the crowd and talked about Performance Etiquette and it got me thinking how nice it would be if we could just give out life etiquette lessons to people all the time in such a direct fashion. That could really make life much easier couldn’t it? For example if someone is asking you out on a date how nice would it be if you could just prep them with a nice little instruction sheet with the do’s and don’ts of how to win you over.

The Storyteller

This episode consists of two very different stories that don’t really have anything to do with each other so I will just talk about each one separately.

Chief O’Brien and Dr. Bashir have been called to a small village on Bajor that claims to be on the verge of total destruction. When they arrive it appears that the village’s Sirah or storyteller. The storyteller is responsible for helping the village beat the Dal’Rok for five days in a row each year and it is day four of the ritual. The Sirah names O’Brien as his successor and he must defeat the Dal’Rok but he has no clue what he is supposed to do. Bashir and O’Brien search for the Dal’Rok’s origin and discover that it is an artificial creation. The Sirah’s estranged apprentice attempts to kill O’Brien because of his jealousy over being usurped in his position. The three then work together to get O’Brien out of  the job and the apprentice back into the job.

Meanwhile back on the station Sisko is playing host to a negotiation between two warring groups on Bajor. The Paqu and Navot both send delegates to the station but the leader of the Paqu ends up being a 14 year old girl who is head strong and stuck in her ways. She ends up meeting Jake and Nog, the preteen welcome crew, and they help to cheer her up a little it along the way. Nog provides a little advice from the Rules of Acquisition about compromising and Jake gives her some insight into his father so that she can trust him. In the end the Paqu and Navot come to and agreement and all works out well.  

This episode is maybe one of the first true duds of the Deep Space Nine series.  It is just a bit odd and the plot holes are a bit too much to handle. 

Battle Lines

Well I am now officially 30 years old and I don’t feel any different than I did a few days ago when I was a mere spring chicken of 29 years old.  The funny thing about birthdays is that they really do make you reflect and think about what you have going on in your life and what isn’t happening. All in all I am pretty pleased with how things have been going. I have lost a significant amount of weight and I am doing pretty well in my promise to stick to it and not gain the weight back. I have a job that I love even if it has been driving me crazy this year with an incredibly high caseload. At the end of the day though I love my students and I love what I do. I am even getting ready to take on a student intern for ten weeks so I will have the opportunity to “pay it forward” as it were.  I have a house an amazing family and group of friends. My dad is alive and doing well and the future looks bright in that respect. The only thing that is not in my life is a relationship and really is that a big deal? I would ideally like to meet my future husband in the near future but for now I am ok just being me at the moment.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 600, Miles: 3.70
Weigh-In: 197 pounds

Battle Lines

Kai Opaka turns up on the station apparently taking Sisko up on an invitation for a tour of the station. The Kai wishes to see the wormhole but since there is not scheduled departures He, Kira and Bashir take her through the wormhole on a runabout. Before the departure the Kai is acting strangely and even gives a necklace to O’Brien for his young daughter, whom she has never met.  While on the other side of the wormhole a transmission is picked up and the Kai persuades them investigate. The transmission is coming from a small moon and the planet’s surrounding satellite network attacks the ship. Once the runabout crash-lands everyone is fine except the Kai who has died. Sisko, Kira and Bashir now find themselves at the mercy of a group called the Ennis who are at war with another faction called the Nol-Ennis. The two groups have been at war for centuries and we soon learn that they have also been on this planet for hundreds of years and are implanted with devices that keep them alive. These devices not only keep them alive but prevent death. The Kai now re-enters the picture and seems find with her fate and is determined to help the inhabitants to find peace. Along the way she even helps Kira to come to terms with her violent past. These two groups continue their fight even after Sisko offers to help the hatred between them has become to deep. Meanwhile O’Brien and Dax have located them and develop a way to beam the crash survivors to safety. The Kai must stay on the planet and again seems satisfied with her decision yes somehow weary of the struggle ahead of her.

This episode sets up the ongoing struggle on Bajor to elect a new Kai. The Kai is their people’s spiritual leader and really the center of their religious lives, much like the Pope to the Roman Catholic faith. 

Vortex

Sometimes a day starts out well enough and turns into shit! That was my day today though it truly started out well, for a Monday that is. The day at work went well but a few bombshells were dropped here and there and then had an awful therapy session with a student with ended with a few objects being thrown at my head. When you wake up and are having a bad day from the get go people say that you have “woken up on the wrong side of the bed” what is it called, other than just a bad day, when your day turns to shit after a few hours. I have tried to make an effort not to go to bed on the wrong side of the bed though so I worked out. It has helped a little but I’m still a little irked but oh well that is life I guess.

Vortex
The station is playing host to a man named Croden, who recently came aboard after being found by a Klingon trade ship in the Gamma quadrant. At the same time Quark is playing host to a pair of Miradorn twins looking to sell a valuable item. During the sale Croden bursts in and kills one of the twins leaving the other one pissed off because Miradorn twins are like one being in two bodies. The living twins pledges to kill Croden before he dies himself. Meanwhile there is to be a trial but in order to make good relationships with a new planet Sisko and Dax go to his world to see if they would like him back. As it turns out Croden is wanted for a lot of crimes and they want him back so Sisko agrees to return him there within two days. During this time Odo and Croden have had several conversations mostly centered on Croden’s apparent knowledge of other changelings. In order to get Croden home and past the Miradorn Raider they use a cargo ship to mask the runabout, once in the Gamma Quadrant Odo is quickly discovered and under attack. Croden convinces Odo to go to a moon where he met a few Changelings. Odo relents but the real reason for their landing is so Croden can rescue his daughter from a stasis chamber in order to save her life. They narrowly escape the Miradorn and Odo manages to get Croden and his daughter on board a ship headed for Vulcan. Odo heads back to DS9 pensive about who he is and where his people come from. 

The Nagus

Does it have to be Monday tomorrow???? That is really all I have for right now, sorry folks. 

The Nagus
Quark is paid a surprise visit by Zek, The Grand Nagus. The Grand Nagus is the head of the Ferengi government and business community. He also happens to be a dirty old man, but aren’t all Ferengi in all honesty. Zek asks Quark to play host to a large meeting of Ferengi business leaders and he of course agrees because everyone lives in fear of the Nagus. During a dinner with Quark, Rom, Nog and the Nagus it is revealed that Nog goes to a human school and he is ordered to quit attending the school immediately. Jake and Nog also have a hard time as both of their parents do not wish them to be friends with the other. Jake and Nog work things out in the end an Jake actually tries to teach Nog how to read! Heart Warming! Meanwhile at the large business meeting the Nagus wants to move Ferengi business into the Gamma Quadrant and he also names Quark the new Grand Nagus. Quark takes over and now at the center of a lot of controversy and death threats and a lot of questions. Essentially he is the new “godfather” of the Ferengi mob and it couldn’t be more hilarious because he reveals himself to be a bumbling idiot. After the death threat Odo gets involved and tries to help Quark but he refuses. In a secret meeting Rom and Krax ( the Nagus’ son) plot to kill Quark so that Rom gets the bar and Krax gets to be the new Nagus. Odo and Bashir suspect that Maihar’du, the Nagus’ aid to be the culprit but it turns out not to be as the Nagus is still alive. Odo saves Quark only seconds before he is blown out an airlock much to the dismay of Krax and Rom. All is forgiven with Quark and Rom and the Nagus reveals that this was all a test for Krax. Krax of course has failed the test and the Nagus keeps his job. 

The show features a fabulous guest role from Wallace Shawn who plays the Nagus. His performance as an aging, dirty-minded, horny, money grubbing old Ferengi leader is so fun to watch and something that we get to see more of because the Nagus pops up pretty frequently in the rest of the show. 

Move Along Home

I got just a little too busy the last few days to do a post after my workouts! I had intended to write up this post on Friday when it happened but feel asleep while writing it and the computer died. Any genius that may have come out of my half awake/half asleep mind is now lost forever. Oh well I’m sure it wasn’t anything worth while so no big loss for the world there.

Forgot to write down the stats as well so this post is really a total fail on my behalf!

Move Along Home
The station is playing host to the Wadi and they have the distinction of making first contact with a new race from the Gamma Quadrant. Sisko, Kira, Bashir, and Dax attempt to make first contact and do the formal thing but the Wadi seem to be more interested in finding a place to play games and have oddly enough already heard of Quark’s Bar. While playing at the bar one of the Wadi, Falow, catches Quark cheating and so they challenge him to a new game of their world. Soon after Sisko, Kira, Bashir and Dax find themselves in surrealistic world full of challenges. The first challenge is to find each other and move along to the next area. They then are confronted with a barraced and must imitate a little girl playing hopscotch to get through. Next a room full of people who are having a good time and the crew must drink the drink so the gas doesn’t kill them. It is about this time that Odo and the rest of the crew find out that the others are missing and they put two and two and two together and figure out that the game pieces are indeed the missing crew members. Odo now has the job of making sure that Quark plays safely so crew doesn’t die. Quark chooses the danger and they all nearly die in a cave but as they are falling from a ledge they magically appear in Quark’s. The whole thing was just a game and Wadi move along home while Kira, Sisko, Dax and Bashir are just a little pissed at the Wadi and more so at Quark.